chinatown // Current TV

Is Rose Pak Racist?

Rose has been getting a lot of attention lately in her support for our Mayor Ed Lee.... more

baghdadbythebay
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5 months ago
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An old joke in a new light

So there’s an old joke that I’m going to paraphrase to start this article... more

baghdadbythebay
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8 months ago
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Thank You for Smoking

“Thank You for Smoking” is a wonderful series of color photographs that... more

disembedded
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1 year ago
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Video: Wildlife for Sale - species considered globally at risk.

- DNA tests on wild animal parts sold in Chinatown and Richmond reveal an array of... more

urlspotter
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1 year ago
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Everything is Practice: A Different Perspective on Soccer

“Everything is Practice” is a black-and-white short film, which documents... more

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1 year ago
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If Looks Could Kill!

Wicked...What an incredible portrait! I want some hair like that. Looks like that... more

disembedded
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1 year ago
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The Gay Caballero

Yee, Haw! This Jazzyboy Caballero dude is really hilarious...Never saw such a sight... more

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1 year ago
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Forget it, Roman, it's Chinatown

The fugitive director is facing a second historical accusation of sexual assault by a... more

looncanada
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2 years ago
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Baby behind the couch, and the narrative function of cute videos

I find myself switching positions on "cute videos." Sometimes I think they're a great part of the internet, other times I'll suggest that they are a waste of time for our stupid culture. It's probably dependent on my mood. Right now I feel like lauding internet cuteness.

We've previously discussed our inherent mammalian appreciation for cute things. Today I'd like to talk about the narrative function of a very cute video.

Urlesque found "baby stuck behind couch."

The video instinctually draws us in with its cuteness. We are at first curious: Why is there a kid stuck behind a couch? His initial "I don't want to tell you" draws us into the story. Almost like that confrontation scene in Chinatown, the audience is confused and compelled to solve this mystery.

The parents eventually proclaim an ultimatum: "you have to tell me if you want to get out." This eventually convinces the toddler to go into a roundabout diatribe on the events leading to his entrapment. The parents continue to interrogate with questions they already know the answers to.

"Well how'd the police cars get back there?"

Matter-of-factly, realizing he has no other options the baby admits: "I throw them back there." The mother mildly reprimands the boy.

He thinks for an extended moment, then resorts back to the whimper of urgency: "I want to get out of here." The inquisition continues, then the child begins to cry. It is with this rhetorical technique that the baby is able to trick his parents into extracting him.

"You promise not to go behind the couch anymore." Even though the mother recognizes his "mmhmm" is insincere, she sends the father to facilitate the release. The mother notes "I'm a horrible mother to be laughing." But the baby is freed unscathed. He finally remarks "thanks for saving me, now can you get the police car out."

This is real life playing out like a sitcom. It's not the real life of reality television, mediated through multiple cameras, story editors, and executive producers. This is a glimpse into the tiny narratives we live everyday. Like television, this video was created for public consumption. This story becomes more meaningful, because more people share this experience. This shared experience make things feel more real.

I'd like to believe that this video makes others appreciate the small narratives in their own lives. Owning meaning, empowers people.I find myself switching positions on "cute videos." Sometimes I think... more

joshuaheller
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2 years ago
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China's next 5-year plan

Mariana van Zeller and I just returned from our first trip to China. We’ve covered a lot of ground since joining Vanguard, but somehow never made it there before. Not that China hasn’t been on our radar. Its been difficult to miss China’s growing power and influence across the globe, an issue we highlighted in "Chinatown, Africa". (In fact, we’ll be talking about China’s influence in Africa this weekend at an MIT/USC event, if you’re around). In many year-end roundups, it was commented that in the last decade we witnessed China’s coming out party on the world stage. But just as many were giving the country its due for its explosive growth over the last several years, others began predicting dire days ahead for the emerging power. On the way back from China, I was reading about how renowned Wall Street short-seller James Chanos, a man infamous for betting and winning large on the collapse of Enron, is now looking to put his chips on a China crash. “China is Dubai times 1,000,” he says in the New York Times article. The piece on Chanos was followed up with a series of stories on the overheated real estate market in Beijing and other signs of bubbles in the Chinese economy. So is China teetering on the brink of collapse? After a little over a week in China, I feel the only thing I can say for sure is: I have no idea. But fortunately, I was in the region at the same time as some one who might and was thinking about the same things, but actually works on real deadlines. In today’s Times, Tom Friedman takes on the Chanos story. But I would add just one thing that if I were looking to invest in China I’d be watching for this year. While in China we met with several environmentalists who like many environmentalists around the world were deflated after the disappointment that was COP 15. So, we asked, what’s on the agenda for the year ahead? The answer was more or less the same from everyone. Last year, with the anticipation of COP 15, Chinese environmentalists were thinking globally. This year, they're acting locally. And 2010 will be a critical time in China. This is the year that the central government begins to formulate its next 5-year plan. And many in China are seizing the opportunity to push for China’s 12th 5-year plan to include a transition to a low-carbon economy. Anyone who’s been to Beijing -- and tried to breath there -- knows that what’s currently fueling China’s economic growth is unsustainable. Not unsustainable in the way crunchy granolas here speak of it, but in a gas-mask-is-the-new-Beijing-fashion sort of way. So if China’s political class are as smart as Tom Friedman often gives them credit for, then China’s next 5-year plan could be a game changer, building the critical mass for cleaner fuels and greener technology. And then you can bet that’s where the smart money will be. Mariana van Zeller and I just returned from our first trip to China. ... more